sister.ali.lloyd: HEAPS OF MIRACLES!

Somewhere Near Sister Lloyd's Area

HELLO BEAUTIFUL FAMILY!!!!!!

I LOVE Y’ALL SO MUCH! DO YOU KNOW THAT? WOW. I HAVE THE BEST FAMILY EVER!!!!!

How is your Book of Mormon reading coming along? (3.8 pages a day to finish by Mother’s Day!)

I need to ask favors of all of you: please write me or email me the experiences that you have when you pray, read, see the Lord’s hand in your life, etc. I want to share miracles with the people we are teaching. Oh, and please write more!!! I love you all so much! [*INSERT: International postage for a letter is $1.10 - you can buy "forever" international stamps but the price is going up in a couple of weeks.]

One more expensive request ... CRYSTAL LIGHT PLEASE! :D It's my only request … I think (wink wink). Seriously, if you could send heaps of CL my way ASAP I would love you even more than I already do. Can you share your new year’s resolutions with me?

Lemon "Cordial" from Sweet Annie!

Well, here's my letta to all you Sistas and Eldas (gotta practice dropping my “r’s”!)

Tomorrow we are headed up to Grafton for exchanges! It’s almost a 7 hour car ride … yay! So excited!!!

My ultimate goal this year, and what I want to accomplish within myself, is INNER CHANGE! I want to experience a change of my very CORE. I want to improve, grow and continue to change each day through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It’s quite a precious thing that I get almost an entire year laid out in front of me to serve the Lord and do and become what He has planned.

A theme for my mission has definitely been Prov. 20:118: ”Where there is no vision, the people perish.” We taught another lesson with S and we asked him to close his eyes and picture himself in a year. Tears filled his eyes as it “clicked” for him and I could see his eyes light up. We should have that vision for ourselves, continually. Whenever I am struggling, I can close my eyes and see that picture of where I want to be and what I need to do to get there. So… I have all these goals and I want to change and become more Christ-like; so what do I need to do to serve with all that I have to become that person? It’s a lot to take in but I know it’s possible with the help of the Lord. Some of the things I WILL accomplish this year include:

Read the Book of Mormon 12 more times
Establish good habits- time management, pure thoughts and words, language, study habits, not being idle
Bring hope and the gospel into someone’s life each day
Choose to love every companion, missionary and person we meet
Take cooking classes with my mum
Cook for my family often- more family meals together
Share experiences from my mission and help my brother Trevor out in the field and my brother Connor prepare for life and his mission
Go to the Sydney Temple
Never become prideful or vain, develop patience, charity and humility
Show my family, with love, how to live the higher law with music, TV, videos etc.
Read “the quad” and Jesus the Christ
Study all conference talks each conference
Spend as much time as possible in the Temple. Remain worthy of the covenants I’ve made
Missionary work in my family. I need to strengthen the people I will be with for eternity
Work out, run, prepare for marathon next year
I will be starting if not in school again. I will have done everything to practice, review and prepare and get in order with schooling and technique to be ready to get to work.
Be honest with myself and follow up on commitments- hold myself accountable of the things I want to accomplish.

My core experience with God this week … WOW! It was probably the most transformational and powerful week of my mission. Remember my letter last week? Well, I know that the Lord was chastening me so that I could greater appreciate the joys of this week and push myself and sanctify myself even more.

At the beginning of this week, SB and I knelt together and made up our minds. This area has really been struggling and WE needed to step up. We were being obedient, but we both knew there was more that we could do, and our area and these people needed it. We have so many investigators who are on the brink of progressing so we decided to rise up and crack down on obedience. Reflecting on this week is so humbling. I think of Mosiah 9:18-19. Every single day we saw miracles. We were reaching our goals and could feel a greater spirit in all that we did-- in our finding, teaching, planning and unity as a companionship. My testimony has grown heaps this week and it is all because of God’s infinite love for his children. We stepped up and he “immediately blessed His children.”(Mosiah 2:24) 

To end our awesome week, we had another miracle. We met with a member family who has two inactive teen sons. When we arrived, the youngest son had a friend visiting. They were rushing out but agreed to stay for a message. We shared a message about having a vision for one’s life and setting goals of who/what we would like to become. To make a long story short, apparently the son’s friend had always reacted negatively towards missionaries but it seemed like he clung to every word we spoke. You could see his eyes light up as he smiled, nodded his head, and said, ”yeah, I agree with that.” The spirit was coursing powerfully through the room. He explained how everything in his life had come crumbling down; that everything he had been told was turning out to be a farce. He felt completely confused and left with no direction. We asked S to bear his testimony about how the gospel has brought him peace and direction. He spoke about how the gospel had given him a vision of the “bigger picture.” And this guy, who hasn’t been to church in months, sat there and spoke the words “I need to go on a mission.”

We shared a scripture in Alma 5:46 how there comes a time when we must find out for ourselves what is true and then go to the source of truth and ask God. I can’t express the joy that SB and I felt after that experience. I really can’t describe it. We felt pure, incomprehensible joy. That hour lesson made all the hard times this week worth it. SO WORTH IT! It’s why I’m here- why WE are here! 

Teaching as Jesus taught came form a lesson that we had with K. As we opened our lesson, they began to spill out everything going through their mind. Here was a person who comes to church every week and has always been involved. They expressed how they had come to a point where they really “hope the gospel is true, and there is a God, but they just don't know for sure.”

There will come a day when we have to rely on what we already know to be true to help us get through the patches of distress and confusion. We must remember to doubt our doubts before we doubt our faith. Through inspired questions, sharing our testimony, and the spirit testifying truth to them, within an hour, their heart was changed. We shared President Monson’s address that “we are never alone,” and you could see the fog lift from their eyes. It was a lesson that confirmed to me that I am supposed to be here. There have been times in my life that all I’ve had to hold on to is my personal knowledge that Heavenly Father lives and loves me as His daughter. And it was AND IS, enough.

Always remember -- above everything else, God loves you and is aware of you. 

Looking back on this week, I am reminded of Ammon in Alma 26:35.  There is power as we chose to live the higher law. I know that the White Hand Book is only the bare minimum of what we should be doing as far as obedience. At home, we are given guidelines -- participate in 3 hours of church, go home teaching once a month, etc. but what happens when we step up and show God our faith and love for Him? Are we going above and beyond because of our love for the Lord and His children? Do we keep watching the dirty TV show because it’s supposed to be for families or do we turn off the TV all together because the spirit can’t dwell there? Are we visiting people because we have to or because we want to and love them? Are we sincerely meditating and confiding in God or saying trite, rote prayers? Are we reading the book of Mormon or feasting on the words of Christ?

I want to share my testimony that this church and gospel of Jesus Christ are true and God loves us. I know that Heavenly Father answers prayers and blesses His children abundantly. I love this work. I love Australia and her people. I love being a missionary and I love my Savior Jesus Christ.

And I love YOU to the moon and back!